HOW TO: HEM YOUR OWN PANTS

Sunday

The impediment: The last time I sat at a sewing machine, Lycra was a new fashion technology.

So, with the lofty ambition of reattaching the original hem to retain its desirably distressed look, I turned to YouTube for modern-day guidance — which also disabused me of my notion that only peers of my mother, in hometowns like my own, still sewed.

A young woman named Laycie offered a snappy tutorial at tinyurl.com/pq2stz.

The first cut: Laycie advised cutting about a half-inch above the stitching of the original hem; I gave myself three-quarters. The original hems lay disembodied on the pool table. There was no turning back. How much fabric to lop off of what was left required math; Laycie reminded me to account for another half-inch seam allowance. Never one for precise calculations, I estimated, then stole sidewalk chalk from my daughter’s backpack to draw a dotted line, 3 inches above the raw edge.

Pins and needles: A brief panic as I pinned the two pieces together: The original hem piece didn’t feel wide enough to go around the pant leg. I unpinned, rematched up the side seams, secured again with pins, then stretched and pinned the rest into compliance. Note to other novices: Trying to save the original hem might be ill-advised if the pant leg tapers or expands at the bottom.

Raging with the machine: It occurred to me that I had never sewn on stretch fabric during my years in 4-H. Fortunately, the manual that came with my machine taught me to simply turn the dial to the “stretch” stitch. As the needle sped around the first turn to the intersection of side seams, my anxiety resurfaced. The presser foot couldn’t rise over the thick hump. I raised the lever and manually guided the fabric until we were over the hill.

Result No. 1: My seams weren’t perfectly aligned but presentable enough for these dark-rinse jeans, with no contrast top stitching to call out the hem.

In the mirror, the finished leg looked a bit shorter than I would like. Maybe that extra quarter-inch of seam allowance hadn’t been so brilliant.

But wait! On the second leg, I could sew my seam a little farther from the original seam to get back that quarter-inch. Then I could rip out the seam from my first go-round, re-pin, and stitch again.

Final result: I completed my task with enough reserves to plug in the iron and press my new seams — but not to zigzag the raw edges. Sure, my denim and Suzy Domesticity feelings had frayed slightly. But I just might try this again at home, on my next, more expensive pair.

Cutting off and re-hemming a pair of jeans can save alteration fees. (Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.